title: Speed and distance requirements for community ambulation: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To provide an overview of the research literature on distance and speed requirements for adults to walk outside the home.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a systematic review and searched PubMed, MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, PEDro, and The Cochrane Library from 1948 to May 2012, and other sources. Search terms included communities, walk, ambulation, and neighborhood.
  
  
  METHODS
  Full-text peer-reviewed articles written in English, French, or Spanish reporting distance and/or speed requirements for individuals walking outside the home were considered eligible. Two authors independently screened titles and abstracts. One author reviewed full-text articles to determine inclusion. Of the 3191 titles and abstracts screened, 15 studies (.47%) were selected for detailed review. One author appraised methodological quality. Inadequate description of the reliability of the measurement methods and the population of the town/city assessed was noted.
  
  
  METHODS
  One author extracted data from included studies. A second reviewer independently verified extracted data for accuracy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seven studies examining 24 community sites and crosswalks in the United States, Australia, and Singapore were included. Three sites with the largest mean distance requirements for adults to walk were club warehouses (677m), superstores (183-607m), and hardware stores (566m). Three sites with the lowest mean distance requirements were walking at the front (16m) and back (19m) of the house, and at cemeteries (18m). The average speed required to cross the street in the time of a walk signal varied from .44 to 1.32m/s.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Distance and speed requirements for adults to walk in the community environment vary widely. Findings are relevant to judging capacity for community ambulation to carry out essential activities of daily living, educating patients, and setting rehabilitation goals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: nancy.salbach@utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Nancy M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Salbach
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Dina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.affiliation: Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Irvin
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Rosemary
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martino
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Pam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Takhar
authors.affiliation: Toronto Western Hospital-University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Jo-Anne
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Howe
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D001315:Australia; D004777:Environment; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012846:Singapore; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States; D016138:Walking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: CI; ICC; Mobility limitation; Rehabilitation; Residence characteristics; Review; Walking; confidence interval; intraclass correlation coefficient